Scores.

[gillsfan1066]

We have been playing friendly's, any chance anyone could put the scores up, and maybe a quick few words about the games, thanks.

[Garawa]

Gillsfan, have you and Mexana seen my reply to your Noircat issues? I can submit them for you if you still cannot download the attachment but time is running out, must defend your title!!!!

I cannot comment a lot on the away friendlies as I didn't go but here it goes:

We put out 2 decent sides against Faversham and came out 4-2 winners with goals from Millbank, Dack and a Birchall brace. 2 hours after kick-off we put out a mainly youthful side (along with Linganzi, Weston, Allen, Martin & Whelpdale) at newly reformed Ashford United on won 2-1 with Blanchard & Legge the scorers.

A week later, before the French training camp, the Gills earned a 3-0 win at Bromley. The game featured all the key first teamers and the goals came from Dack, Barrett and a Kedwell penalty.

Last Tuesday Mick McCCarthy's Ipswich came to town and ran out fortunate 2-1 winners against a largely first team Gills plus Harry Grant who looked a real handful covering every inch of the pitch. The visitors had the best of the first half largely down to the more potent strike force of Frank Nouble and David McGoldrick (the latter opening the scoring in the first half from a great free kick from just under halfway inside the Gills half) and we had Nelson to thank for keeping the score at 1-0 at half time having made 2 great saves, one a double point blank save. The front two of Kedwell and McDonald were kept quiet with Titus Bramble and Tottenham's South African international Khumalo dominating the Town defence. However it only took 10 seconds of the 2nd half for their back four to be breached. Cody received the ball on the edge of the box, took a couple of nudges to take it to just a yard or so from the near left post and toe poked it between the keepers legs the level the scores. It happened in the blink of an eye and proved he is sharp and the Gills certainly dominated the next 30 minutes. After a glut of changes, the game lost its way slightly and David October slotted the winner across Nelson into the bottom right of the net with the very last kick of the game!

4 days later Steve Lomas's Millwall came to Priestfield and won 3-1 in a totally different game. Despite promises of the missing players on the Tuesday being used, only Linganzi came in for Grant (the only other change saw Whelpdale and Dack swopping flanks). The Gills were completely outclassed with Steve Morrison causing endless problems and Barrett and Legge became totally overwhelmed as Millwall piled forward. Largely influencial in the middle was former Gills loanee Josh Wright and the massive frame of Danny Shittu (along with my man of the match Scott Malone alongside him) dealt with any mild Gills threat with ease. It only took 7 minutes for the visitors to take the lead and it was Morrison who got the goal. 12 minutes later Feeney had made it two and Morrison had made it three with only 28 minutes on the clock. There was no threat from the Gills at all with the ball constantly being played from defence and lofted towards McDonald which usually went over everyone's heads to the keeper or simply got headed back by Shittu who looked only a few pound lighter than Akinfenwa! Morrison had a chance to grab his hat-trick (and should have) and another chance somehow trickled wide when easier to score and 5-0 at half-time would have been fair. There wasn't a great deal of improvement in the second half but the Gills did stop the rot and the only positive from the game was that Akinfenwa came on and scored from a neat header that no-one could deal with and it looped over Forde in the Lions goal. Both sides brought on a whole raft of subs but none made much of an impact, the best being the Millwall forwards of Jermaine Easter and Danny N'Guessan.

Next up Ian Holloway's Crystal Palace tonight.

[gillsfan1066]

Garawa ,thanks so much , I kind of wondered what was going on. GREATreports cannot thank you enough. OK enough of the a** kissing, lol. No I really mean it, thanks a bunch.
Spoke to Em just ten minutes ago she informs me she sent hers yesterday to Alex, she has only just got back to Chicago and her cohort is in new Zealand so she has had to do it herself this year, lol, can not wait to see her picks, lol. I will do mine as soon as.
Finally got some great weather it has either been 90 degrees with 100% humidity or thundering and dropping out of the sky, but this week it is going to be mid 80's all week, so I am having a few days vacation, swinging the clubs and chasing the little white ball into the undergrowth. All those acres of fairway some poor sod cuts each day and I spend my time in the long stuff, lol. Maybe I should drop him a couple of hundies to cut the long stuff, lol.
Where we are staying has no internet connection, cell phone does not even work but intermittently , I will try and send it when I get back here to the club in the morning.
Once again thanks for the info, would like to see a good showing tonight against what will probably be a good Palace side, I really hope we don't struggle this season, I am not quiet as confident as I was a few weeks ago, think we may be heading for a mid table finish, worried we will not score enough ?

[Garawa]

Excellent Gillsfan.

You'll be pleased to know we lost 3-0 last night, however it was a good game and we created ample chances, both Kedwell & Akinfenwa blazing over the bar and if on target they would have scored. They surprisingly worked well together and Bayo looked deceptively quick. Once Palace went 1 up they sent the ball deep into their own half and was content to tap it around there LOTS, if possession stats were available they would have had 70 odd percent without leaving their own half!

In the end it was Premiership quality that told, scoring 2 goals that were perfectly placed from well outside the area. Absolutely everything (and I do mean everything) went through Jose Campana brought in from Sevila, something worth noting if Linganzi is used in a similar position. Still no Weston, officially not injured but not available for any of our home games. Gregory was replaced by Linganzi with Charlie Allen in his place, the rest was the same. 3-0 flattered the very noisy Palace fans that filled half the Gordon Road.

Moment of the match: Matt Fish fouled a Palace player in the first half and in the second got CHEERS instead of boos which go more louder as the game went on! He was replaced by young Butcher who was subsequently booed before they started singing "We want our Fish back!" Brilliant.

[Rimshot]

Without getting too hacked off about pre-season results I have to say this is all a bit disappointing though. I'm trying very hard to be positive, for example about Akinfenwa, who I think will be a complete waste of rather a lot of space. Damn it, that wasn't positive at all !!

[Poshgill]

I thought he was very poor last night. In fact, despite the official blurb that we played well, I and Mr Kezz came away a little dipondent. Not because we lost to a very good Palace side, but becuase we were incapable of doing the simple things right. We couldn't hold onto the ball for love nor money. We constantly gave the ball away cheaply and the 2nd goal, whilst taken with some aplomb, should never have got to the man in the first place. As for Bayo, well, he has the turning circle of an ocean going tanker and I've seen milk turn quicker. I'm with you on this Rimshot. A totally uninspiring signing and I cannot understand letting Burton go in favour of Akinfenwa.

[Garawa]

Whilst I kind of agree, our display against Millwall was so much worse that it is hard to put it into words! I don't think we kept possession before giving it away cheaply for more than 6 seconds. In the context of a friendly I thought we played alright. The second goal in a real game the player wouldn't have been given the same space but no-one is going to end their season with a risky last-ditch tackle! And whilst I have the same issues with Akinfenwa, he looked quicker and sharper than I remember and took his goal very well against a very good Ipswich defense.

I perhaps deservedly took a little stick after the Millwall game but there were a lot of positives last night. The side may not have been the strongest Palace could put out but when facing La Liga and international players maybe 3-0 wasn't too bad. And Bournemouth and Real Madrid are closer in terms of league position and they lost 6-0!

Cody missed a chance he WILL put away any other time, Bayo and Keds created a chance or two (a good effort from Kedwell making lots of space to get a shot in) and the third was scored after our heads dropped from a second that perhaps might not have gone in had we been more physical.

My concerns still lie with a very light midfield. Weston, Dack, Whelpdale, Allen, Lingazi & Gregory is it! Weston is clearly injured, the later pair are too similar and we can pretty much only play one way and in all three home friendlies is just isn't clicking at all.

[Elgrande]

Well that's it then, pre-season friendlies not gone too well so we might as well pack up and not bother with the league. If I remember correctly, pre-season is just that and the results don't count towards our points total. Maybe I have misread the fixture list, but I don't think we play any teams from the Championship or the Premiere League during the regular season do we?

[Rimshot]

Get off your high horse and read the thread ElG. This is just proper fans having a rational discussion, no-one is writing us off or assuming the worst.

[Robpthegills]

I think sometimes Elg you play devils advocate so much you just forget to read some posts as they are intended.

No one is booing them or singing going down going down, but we do have the right to have an opinion and voice it on a message board.

Last season Gillingham Football Club made an awful lot of money. For a div 2 team we made shed loads on the sale of players, bonuses from other
transfers that had sell on clauses and things like Bertrands england performance.

I know we do not have a lot of money, but to say the pot is dry after signing Cody, Akinfenwa, and Lingadze or whatever his name is now. Especially as since then we
have also sold Jack Payne.

I do not understand the worries over Weston being injured. I thought weston was 2 parts useless and 1 part ineffective for 90 percent of last season, it was as if he got found out.

We need another quality midfielder and defender. Shame is we have just got rid of a quality midfielder.

I am totally non plussed about the Akinfenwa signing, i have been since we signed him. I will wait and hopefully he will prove me terribly wrong, and I soooooooo want to be wrong.

All this seems to do is push Kedwell out a bit, and no matter what people say about Kedwell, we win more games with him in the team than we do without him and he bleeds GFC.